Emotional difficulties in early adolescence following severe early deprivation: Findings from the English and Romanian adoptees study

Abstract

The study assessed conduct and emotional difficulties in a group of Romanian adoptees at age 11, and serves as a follow-up to assessments made when the children were 6 years old. It was found that there was a significant increase in emotional difficulties, but not conduct problems, for the Romanian sample since age 6. It was also found that emotional difficulty was significantly more prevalent at age 11 in the Romanian group than in a within-UK adoptee group. Emotional difficulties in the Romanian adoptee group were found to be significantly and strongly related to previous deprivation-specific problems (disinhibited attachment, cognitive impairment, inattention/overactivity and quasi-autism); however, the presence of such early problems did not account fully for the onset of later emotional problems. Five contrasting hypotheses concerning possible mediators for later onset of emotional difficulties for the Romanian group were examined. No links were found to duration of deprivation or other deprivation-related indices, stresses/difficulties in the postadoption family environment, or educational attainment and self-esteem. There was some evidence that emotion recognition might play a role in the emergence of these problems, but other measures of social competence and theory of mind showed no associations with the onset of emotional problems.

Early Childhood Adversities and Trajectories of Psychiatric Problems in Adoptees: Evidence for Long Lasting Effects

“…It is conceivable that a decline in the risk associated with early adversities occurred only prior to the age of 10 years and not in the age span covered by our study. This would be compatible with the catch-up found in a study of Romanian children adopted into the UK which were followed-up till the age of 11 years (Colvert et al 2008;Rutter et al 2001). However, improvements in that study were seen in specific areas only, for example height, growth, cognitive level and atypical behavior.…”

“…On the other hand, the results of the present study are not compatible with some other studies on childhood adversities. In late childhood, emotional and behavioral disturbances were not clearly associated with early deprivation, in a group of early institutionalized Romanian adoptees (Colvert et al 2008;Kreppner et al 2007;Rutter et al 2001). Possibly, the children in this study were too young to measure particular sequelae.…”

“…However, improvements in that study were seen in specific areas only, for example height, growth, cognitive level and atypical behavior. Furthermore, there were also some lasting effects found, mainly in children who were deprived more than 6 months and emotional difficulties increased in early adolescence (Beckett et al 2002;Beckett et al 2006;Colvert et al 2008;Rutter and the ERA Study Team 1998).…”

“…Surprisingly, there was an increase in emotional and behavioral disturbances in the adopted group. However, there was no clear association between early deprivation and emotional or behavioral problems (Colvert et al 2008;Kreppner et al 2007;Rutter et al 2001). Furthermore, in a cross-sectional study of a non-adopted sample, Kessler et al (1997) found that the risk of psychiatric disorder onset was highest during the first few years after the occurrence of a childhood adversity.…”

Pattern of Diagnosis and Co-occurring Symptoms in Adopted Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…9 For example, the English Romanian Adoption (ERA) Study observed a significant increase in emotional problems from age 6 to age 11 in previously institutionalized children. 11 An analysis of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions compared adopted with nonadopted individuals and found that adoptees had increased odds of developing a mood disorder, anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. 12 Studies in internationally adopted children showed sleep problems as a main adjustment difficulty, even in the absence of developmental problems.…”